Right before class begins Dr. Pothier stands out in the hallway. Even though there are usually other things that could be getting done in preparation for the class, she does it because it is for the students safety. I am usually inside the classroom setting things up for the class i.e. burets and beakers. The first thing that typically needs to be done is to go over the homework. There is a clever little game that they play here. The class is divided in two halves (the half that usually loses has, not surprisingly, named the other team "the dark side"). Dr. P will ask the first person on the team the first question from the previous nights homework. If they get it right then they can shoot a racquet ball into a recycling bin in an attempt to score a point for their team. But, if they get it wrong, the question passes to the other team and the point value is doubled. The question will keep going back and forth up until the point at which it becomes a 64 point question. If it still is not answered correctly nobody gets any points for it. The team with the most points at the end of the homework is awarded 5 points on the next exam. The award isn't always 5 points on the next exam, it can vary accordingly.
I'm not 100% sure if I like this way of going over the homework in class. It can be very time consuming, yet it is an effective way of assessing how well a student did on it, or if they even did it at all. It also succeeds in getting the student up out of his/her seat and gives them the ability to move around the room a little. Overall, I would say Dr. P has a very effective method of opening class which quickly engages the students and gets them ready to work throughout the class period.
I'm not 100% sure if I like this way of going over the homework in class. It can be very time consuming, yet it is an effective way of assessing how well a student did on it, or if they even did it at all. It also succeeds in getting the student up out of his/her seat and gives them the ability to move around the room a little. Overall, I would say Dr. P has a very effective method of opening class which quickly engages the students and gets them ready to work throughout the class period.